“Let’s plant some native trees, and why this is important to our ecosystems.”

Our April 17 speaker will be Bethlehem MSR club member Taylor Breinich, certified arborist, and also a member of MSR’s Green Team.  Taylor’s presentation will focus on why native trees are essential to our Planet’s regional ecosystems.

So why plant native?

•   Native trees and shrubs are low maintenance.  They have evolved in their respective regions and require less care for their survival, such as watering, which conserves water.

•   Because they are native to their ecosystem, they are part of the food web and support wildlife biodiversity.

•   Non-native trees, which can also be ‘invasive’ to natural environments, serve very little ecological value in-particular as a food source.  Invasive tree species can ‘crowd out’ native species, thus making it more difficult for an ecosystem to recover from centuries of human impact.

In recognition of April’s Arbor and Earth Day celebrations, Taylor is bringing 100 ‘bare root’ tree saplings to this presentation. These easy to carry saplings have been donated by her employer, Bartlett Tree Experts, for Rotary members and/or their friends and family to plant.  Taylor is bringing 25 Sugar Maple, 25 Serviceberry, and 50 Eastern Red Cedar trees.

To increase the positive impact on our Planet, the Green Team will also give instructions on how Rotary members can post their tree planting events on social media.  We seek to plant ideas as well, such as why ‘going native’ is important, and most of all, how the Bethlehem MSR club is supporting Rotary’s 7th Area of Focus - Supporting our Environment.

Come join us, get a tree or two, and spread the word!

Morning Star Rotary "Green Team"   Taylor Breinich, Jennifer Cunningham, Holly Sachdev, Eric Obeysekare, Enid Jackson, and Rick Morrissey